National Preventive Mechanism
complexity of the material an “easy reading” version was not possible. The
NPM does not share the misgivings expressed by the Ministry and continues
to hold the opinion that agreements must be worded in such a way that the
persons involved can understand and follow the content.
¾¾ Care home agreements in written form for persons with disabilities are
obligatory.
¾¾ Agreements must be simply and comprehensibly worded.
¾¾ The persons involved must be able to understand and follow the content.
Occupational therapy workshops
The commissions completed numerous visits to day-care centres and
workshops for persons with disabilities. Persons whose performance
capability under Austrian social insurance law ranges between very low
to just under 50% of the performance capability of a non-disabled person
work in these facilities. Regardless of the scope of the work performed by
the individual persons, such occupations are not deemed to be employment
relationships. Under current case law, the activity is primarily in the interest
of those employed to work and serves as “education and upbringing” and
“treatment”.
Activity in the
workshops is not
employment under
social insurance law
Therefore, these individuals are not covered by social insurance based on
their activity. They do not acquire any independent pension entitlement.
They receive other insurance benefits from entitlement under the minimum
benefit system, from orphan pensions, etc. They do not receive any wages
under social insurance law for their work, but receive only pocket money
amounting to an average EUR 65 per month. The criteria for the calculation
of the amount of the pocket money are often not transparent and, in any
case, are not uniform.
„Wages“ are only small
amount of pocket
money
The NPM presumes that employment in the current form does not conform
to the provisions of the CRPD. Under Section 27 of the UN CRPD, persons
with disabilities have the same right to work and employment as everyone
else. The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has also
criticised the employment of around 19,000 persons in Austria outside of the
regulated labour market. Remarks by the Human Rights Advisory Council
about this problem area were published on the AOB website.
From the perspective of the NPM, a reform of the current legal situation
and practice is urgently necessary. The goal must be to ensure the means
of earning a living beyond current social welfare or the set-up of the
minimum benefit system (i.e. without taking assets into consideration and
Reform of legal
situation necessary
127
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